Who didn’t see this coming?
Here’s The Playlist tackling a recent report that has Warner Bros. very nervous about the commercial prospects surrounding Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming “One Battle After Another.” Gee, ya think?
The studio is said to be very concerned after the film’s test screening in Phoenix last week elicited polarizing reactions. Apparently, WB thinks Anderson’s latest may be too “eccentric and bizarre” for general audiences, and much of their nerves resides in the film’s $140M budget.
What the report fails to mention is that, according to Jeff Sneider, the budget on “One Battle After Another” apparently skyrocketed to $175M last summer. When contacted for confirmation relating to the actual costs on the film, a Warner Bros rep refused to comment.
I’ve said this before, but PTA should be seen as this absolute genius for convincing Warner Bros to give him a budget well over nine-figures to make a loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s hard-to-describe novel, “Vineland.” Sure, Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the film, and he’s said to have a $25M salary on this one, but will his presence even be enough to lure audiences in and recoup that budget?
“One Battle After Another” is, quite easily, the most expensive project of PTA’s career, by well over $100M. The filmmaker’s highest-grossing film, 2007’s “There Will Be Blood,” only made $74M. Of course, WBD CEO David Zaslav very well knew this when he gave this project the go-ahead.
Yet, it now appears Zaslav is “nervous” about the film’s tone. According to the Warner Bros insider, who spoke under anonymity, Anderson’s latest “is an extremely eccentric and bizarre movie that is going to be too weird for even Leo’s most adventurous fans.”
They go along to add, and this has been previously reported, that the folks over at Warner Bros are so nervous about “One Battle After Another” that it will “probably” move off of the summer 2025 schedule” for a “more forgiving” position on the release calendar.”